Other Alexa (or Alexa compatible) speakers
Amazon Echo Pop is $40: The Echo Pop is a very good small speaker and the cutest speaker in Amazon’s lineup. Is it sounding very good? No. This is enough for background music, or if you are limited to dorm rooms, but get a similar size sound from the Echo Dot (but you’ll spend more money) you won’t get such cute colors! )
Amazon Echo Show 5 (third generation) for $90: This smart display is another option just now, but it’s too small to be a good monitor, and the included camera makes it a nightstand No; it’s better to choose the above echo point or echo point.
Amazon Echo Show 10 (third generation) for $250: This smart display is loud, but its weird shape makes it difficult to fit seamlessly into your home. It’s cool that it can follow you when you talk, but it’s also a little weird. It would be great if you have a large kitchen island, but you always walk around and nothing else. Note: It is currently out of stock, but it is expected to recover soon.
Amazon Echo Show 15 (second generation) for $300: This smart display is a great display, but obviously hopes to double it as a TV, and it’s not very good yet. I hope we will see TV-related performances in the future to make it worth adding to the kitchen or office. However, it does a great job with widgets thanks to the large number of 15.6-inch screens. There is also the larger Echo Show 21 ($400), which is essentially the same thing, but bigger.
Amazon Echo Studio costs $200: The Echo Studio is our favorite echo speaker to supply sound quality, but availability is limited – only in stock in July. When asked, Amazon did not confirm the stability of its availability.
The Amazon Echo Sub is $130: This is our top choice for bass, which can be paired with other Echo speakers to add some bass to your jam session. Currently, it’s not available on Amazon, but it’s still available for third-party retailers like Best Buy, and we’ve been watching if it’s back. Amazon did not confirm if it would when asked.
Bang & Olufsen Beosound A1 (second generation) at $250: The BeoSound A1 is a durable, beautiful and great listening companion, and the second generation version has Alexa integration that makes it an Alexa speaker. This is a great speaker, but more expensive than Sonos roaming.
Other devices with Alexa inside
Why do you only ask Alexa for help when you are at home? These accessories allow you to carry your favorite voice assistant with you.
Echo Frame (3rd Generation), priced at $330: Adrienne, editor of Wired Review, is ready to hate these combination glasses and headphones, but she actually loves them a lot. They look good, surprisingly comfortable, and sound OK-albeit subtle, as the speakers just sit right next to your ears. You can answer the phone while running and walking, the microphone is good enough to sound like she is still on her phone. But the charging foundation is annoying. The arms of glasses are not very suitable for the stands, and you have to carefully balance the frame at two points.
Echo Buds (2023 version), priced at $50: We prefer the 2021 version of these earbuds, but are no longer available. The 2023 version is cheaper, much ugly, and has no ANC.
Meet Alexa+
Photo: Nena Farrell
Amazon has begun rolling out new and improved Alexa called Alexa+. It is available for free when accessed early, although you have to join the waiting list and wait for selection. I had to view Alexa+ on an echo display device (this is the only device you used Alexa+ during early access), and it was a very positive experience. I love the updated, more conversational voices, and Alexa+ does a great job of answering all kinds of questions quickly and thoughtfully. Check out early access hands-on hands-on for all the ideas we came up with when testing.
Alexa+ also caused some changes, even for those who don’t use it. It requires all voice records to be sent to Amazon for processing. Amazon has changed its features wholesale – now all recordings with regular Alexa can also go to Amazon. There was once a “Don’t Send Voice Recording” privacy feature where you have the option to process voice requests locally, but the feature was killed on March 28, 2025 based on emails sent to the current user of the feature by Amazon.
There is no timetable yet, when to access it early, the final version will be available. Alexa+ will be available for $20 per month once exiting early access, or if you have an Amazon Prime membership for free. If you add an Alexa device to your home, you might have membership, but it’s a big jump compared to the previous free assistant. Still, it’s a nice upgrade, comparable to the world’s AI assistant, which is not surprising, as it is built on generated AI.
FAQ
What is the difference between an echo and an echo show?
A regular Echo is a smart speaker, or a speaker with a microphone, so it can hear you speak to it and respond. Echo Programs is a smart display with a screen and a camera that allows you to make video calls, stream content, and view answered questions on the screen. Both have similar features when it comes to smart home control, answering questions and playing music, but the Echo show benefits from the screen. All echo programs have cameras and come with a physical camera cover for privacy.
When is the best time to buy an Echo?
The best time to buy any Amazon speaker is at major sales events like Black Friday or Amazon Prime Day, as there are often huge discounts. You often see cheaper speakers discounts about 50%, and larger speakers can also see some good sales prices.
How to remove ads and spam from echo shows?
If you are using an Echo Show device, you may notice that the device will show you a lot of default content. Athletic results! Local news! Recipes you may be interested in! It exhausts the device and is annoying.
Here is how you can control what you see:
- Swipe down from the top of the Echo Program to pull up the menu and select Settings.
- In the Settings menu, select Home Content.
- You can turn 40 options on and off on this menu and you should delete as many of the ones you don’t use as much as you can. I usually delete everything except weather forecasts and I recently played audio.
While you can turn off interest-based ads for third-party skills (Alexa privacy in the Settings menu), it won’t stop all ads. The only ad-free setting is to select Photo Display Mode, which can use the photo gallery included in Amazon or your own. The downside is turning it into a digital photo frame, so you won’t even see features like clocks or widgets.
Can I handle my Alexa request locally, or do I have to go to the cloud?
There was once a privacy feature called Do Not Send Voice Recording that lets you make all voice requests that are processed locally on your Alexa device, rather than Baeing sent to Amazon’s cloud storage. The feature was killed in March 2025 to support Alexa+, and you still can’t access the feature any more even if you continue to use the old Alexa.
Alexa+ is still only available in early access, you can only get it by joining the waitlist and waiting to be selected. It’s random, so far, Amazon has no timetable, when everyone on the list can get it, or when it will end the list. You just need to join the waitlist and wait for when to choose. Once done, check out our hands-on experience with our favorites for Alexa+ so far.
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